Tales of Vesperia - Liberty
by ObsidianNoir
Summary: "If there would have been a living definition of strange then this kid he faced was that definition." That was the first thought he had when he encounters Ray Verrier the first time in his live. Would Yuri bring this young man with him on his escape and on his search for the aqua blastia? Oc
1. Prologue: A strange boy

Prologue: Strange kid

"So...where could be my stuff?" A black, long-haired man opened his cell door, after he got the key for it from one of the prisoners. He was sure that he could go out and then come back to his prison cell without anyone noticing but he still had a strange feeling about his helper. _"But seriously, who was that old man? Why would the commander himself pick him up?"_ Guessing that there was no point in thinking about it further he went straight to the exit. Suddenly he noticed somebody in one of the cells. Strange, he was sure that he and the old man were the only ones in this section. The black clothed man looked to his right and saw indeed a person: The male prisoner looked like a teenager, about sixteen if he had to guess. If the now free man had to guess that this kid was about a head smaller than him. He wasn't to sure about it since his apparent prison neighbor was lying on the ground as if this prison was his home. At least he assumed that since the teenager wrapped himself inside of his dirty prison blanket and only had his head outside of it, which looked at him with a sleepy face and plain, brown short hair, that was a little spiky. Probably from the sleep. The teenager also seemed to shiver which would explain why he would be willing to use that dirty piece of bed equipment. They stared each other into the eyes before a grin appeared on the kid's face.

"Heyho! Broke free, huh? Something important to do? What's your name? My name is Ray Verrier! You gonna free me, right?" This Ray-fella was pretty happy and talk active considering where he actually was. A bit too happy and talk active since this could wake up the guard easily. At least the kid tried to be quiet. The long haired man decided to play along and talk with the kid, not wanting to risk that Ray would sell him out to the knights.

"Name's Yuri Lowell and yes, I'm kinda in a hurry to catch a bad guy. And no, as much as I liked to, I can't free you." The last part wasn't really a lie. He did want to free this kid since he didn't looked like he did something bad but he only got one key from the old man and he was sure that they had more than this one specific key-type. However Ray did not let Yuri go away that easy.

"Oh come on, why not? I have to get to Dahngrest as fast as possible! I can't even imagine what happens with my babies when I'm not there for them!" Beside the fact that the wrapped up kid looked pretty calm despite the rejection, the, unlike Ray, free man processed said sentence inside his head. _Either this kid is REALLY popular with the ladies or __he got really "busy" with some of them. What would be actually the same if I...I better stop thinking about it._Shaking off these thoughts since they both sounded equally creepy, he replied with a calm tone:

"Listen kid, even if I would free you, the way to Dahngrest is pretty long. It's way too dangerous for you alone. Which leaves me to the question what you are doing here anyways." The reaction Yuri got wasn't the one he expected: He looked insulted.

"Excuse me, but you never heard of the great Ray Verrier?! The best blacksmith in the whole world?!" Hearing the growling of the sleeping guard only a few steps afar from them, Ray seemed to calm down a bit. Though he still had a hint of happiness and brightness even if he sounded insulted.  
"Anyways...It is truly a shame, that you don't know my fame!", _Did he just rhymed?, _"I was here to get some raw material since the delivery costs would take to long and I couldn't risk them screwing up again in a month. So I came here, insulted a knight and they threw me in prison for that. And for the thing with the journey...I paid some guys back in Dahngrest to get me at least to Deidon Hold. Though these guys aren't really the one you would call bodyguards..." Tilting his head Yuri now was quite curious in what way he insulted a knight and especially why, though he could answer it for himself. As if the long-haired man asked for more information, Ray continued to talk.

"Can you believe it? That guy wanted to snatch away my first baby because she was "forbidden"! Okay, enough of that, back to topic: How much money to get me out and bring me to Dahngrest?" Yuri sighted when he heard that again. Slowly but steady this got repetitive and the part with the babies got more strange. Before he could repeat his answer about him not being able to free him however, Ray cut him off.

"These are half-pin barrel hinges. With the right leverage and the proper application of strength, the door will lift free. Don't ask me why my cell is the only one like that. You have to use something like a sword or a sheath at this point", Ray pointed with his arm at a certain spot, "Anyways I will give you whatever you want they didn't take from me as prepayment. I will give you the rest if you bring me to Dahngrest." _Huh, this kid knows about this stuff __apparently.__..Should I risk bringing him with me? _The self claimed blacksmith however saw the thoughtful expression and took his choice.

"Of course I can just scream like a maniac to get the soldiers. But since I'm a nice kid, who just wants to go home, I am offering you this deal, mahahahahaha!" Yuri only smirked and gave a like chuckle as an answer.

"You are pretty evil, you know that? Fine, but I will only bring you to Aspio. At most. I have to give chase to that bad guy after all."

"Okay, deal! Now get your stuff and open that thing. I bet that you can fight, right? Or else you will at least serve as a meat shield, mahahahahaha!" Yuri asked himself why the hell that guard didn't woke up from this noise. The ones outside probably thought that this kid has gone nuts, which was something he couldn't deny. The kid stood up after he finished his short laugh and showed his clothes to Yuri: The kid wore something like a priest robe, only not as plain. It had a mixture of white and red on it and he noticed that the hood was big enough to shadow is entire face. One could see that he had something underneath, which looked like a white vest. Seemingly that way Ray could strip of that robe in emergencies. After stopping observing him Yuri went past the sleeping guard and got his stuff. After that he went back to Ray's cell and did as he was told: Using his sword as a lever to open the door. Surprisingly that was pretty easy and before he noticed the young man dashed off the get his own equipment. Walking after him Yuri saw another strange thing.

"Blaze! Oh, thank the heavens, you are okay! Don't worry, Daddy will stay at your side from now on forever!" _So __that's__ what he meant with babies..."_ Ray was hugging a katana and even talked to it like it was a human. The kid then proceeded to put it on his belt around his waist under his robe, took a small bag into his robe pocket and looked over to the guard that didn't really did his job well. Ray just shrugged it off and wanted to walk ahead, but Yuri pulled him back.

"Stay here for a while, I'm gonna scout ahead", the other sword fighter answered smirking.

"Kay, just don't ditch me like a girl, mahahahahaha!" Ray raised his hand for a high-five and Yuri could see his hand: They were covered in scars and bruises. _Either he is a bad cook or he really is a blacksmith..._ Nonetheless there was another detail he could discover: It shivered. It was barely visible but he clearly shivered. Considering how he was a blanket roll a few moments ago Yuri didn't thought about it much. He responded to the hand with his own hand and walked out of the prison to look around. There were only a few things he actually knew about Ray at the moment but he was sure about one thing: If there would have been a living definition of strange then this kid he faced just now was that definition.

\\\\\

_So...slowly and steady..._ After making sure that the guard above him turned around he began to walk but instantly cursed himself after that.

"Hey! Who's there?!" A knight spotted him. Naturally it wasn't really hard since Yuri practically walked into him. Before the knight could attack him, suddenly he felt two legs landing on his helmet and then on his stomach, knocking him out as a result. Ray turned around while still standing on his victim and said with a satisfied grin:

"Sooo...not really good at being stealthy?" The other prison break smirked back at him and answered casually.

"Talk for yourself, kid, making that kind of move isn't really subtle." After the word-exchange they proceeded to make their way out.

"Any idea how to get out? Some secret passage or something?", the kid asked while walking next to his "savior" and Yuri replied with a shrug:

"Well, I kinda got a hint that there is something beneath the statue of the goddess."

"Better than nothing I guess."

\\\\\\\\

**Incompetence**

_Ray: So...is it common that knights are so...incompetent? I mean, I was pretty loud and that other guy fell like a sack of potatoes._

_Yuri: Well, most of the knights only got their job through some connections or slacked off as soon as they passed the entrance exams. There are only a few exceptions who are actually trying to make a difference. That's why I left._

_Ray: Huh, understandable. Must have been annoying to be a knight._

_Yuri: Didn't expect you to believe just like that._

_Ray: Well, considering the knights I saw so far, a ten year old could become a knight._

_Yuri: Wow, thanks._

/

"Milady, please come back!"

The young woman didn't even bother to turn around. She didn't had time for that. Every second counted. _Flynn..._ However Estelle knew that the dress wasn't really the best clothing for fleeing and also knew that her physiques weren't the best either. The way she wore her pink hair also made her uncomfortable but this was the least of her worries.

"No step further, ma'am!" She gasped as she suddenly saw another knight right in front of her. She was inside of a big hall with three ways to go, from which two were blocked each by one knight. The third one on the other hand only lead deeper into the castle. She slowly stepped back and only had two options: Fight or reason with them. Given her personality she took the second one.

"Please, you have to let me go! I have to warn Flynn!"

"I am sorry, but we cannot allow this. Please, if you just-" Deep inside of her she knew that it wouldn't work out that way. For that specific reason she brought the item with her she now pointed at the knights: A rapier.

"With all due respect, I have to ask you to drop that weapon! You will only hurt yourself!"

"I know how to fight!" This wasn't the wisest respond she could come up with but she couldn't stand how they underestimated her.

"You leave us no choice..." The knights drew out their weapons and wanted to attack her, but suddenly a blue aer wave hit the two soldiers. _That was Flynn's technique! _She remembered the shape and the color from the time she observed him in training. She turned around while talking happily:

"Flynn, I am so glad that you-" Sadly for her she didn't gazed upon the one she wanted to see. She only saw two people she never saw, one of them was even younger and smaller than herself.

\\\\\\

Ray sighed. He feared that it would come to something like that. It just was way too easy to get past the patrols and he cursed himself for jinxing it. He didn't had time to think more about it since reinforcements came in – if one could call them reinforcements since they will end up like their colleagues on the ground most likely. _If this goes on then I don't even have to fight..tch._ He held his hands, noticing they were still shaking. It was like that since he was inside his cell and he hated this sensation. Ray could consider himself lucky, that there were at least other people to talk to and that there was light that distracted him. While having a short grim look on his face he mumbled

"I hate those stuffed places...well, could have been worse." Suddenly he heard his name getting called which brought him back to reality. He blinked and saw how Yuri already was done with the knights. He put on his smile and walked up to them.

"Mahahahahaha! See? Don't need my help! For these weak knights, your bodhi blastia is more than enough!" Yuri gave him a little frown and replied:

"You could at least try to help me. Even if you don't have one for yourself you could distract them or something. Consider this on the bill. Speaking of bill, where is my prepayment?" Ray flinched a bit but then grinned again.

"Sure, here!" He searched around in his pocket and picked out a golden necklace with a ruby inside. He threw it over and quickly added:

"Don't worry, it isn't that much worth. Only artistic and looks real. Now..." He turned around to see the pink haired noble. When he realized what he saw, he dodged instinctively and witnessed the destruction of a vase.

"Woman, what the hell?! That is art!...Oh, and why are you trying to kill me?! I would understand if you try to kill him! He is obviously the fighter!" The blacksmith did not like it when someone does that to art.

"Hey, I take offense to the part with killing me", Yuri replied with a humorous tone but the young woman on the other hand was not in the mood for that.

"You aren't from the castle and you gave him payment! Surely he is an assassin and you are his client!" The two man looked at each other and the one with the longer hair said sarcastically:

"Well, I take it as a compliment for seeing that."

"Do I look like some kind of secret boss? And if I would be, why should I be here? At the place where I would want to have my assassination? Sounds kinda wrong, right? Mahahahahaha!" Before they could talk further a ridiculously loud voice rang through the halls of the castle.

"YUUUURRRIIII LOWELL! WHERE ARE YOU?!" After that Ray stopped listening and rather looked at Yuri's sighing before raising his voice.

"Guess there's no point in going back to the prison cell now." The self proclaimed blacksmith raised an eyebrow and asked surprised:

"Hold on, you wanted to go back? Why?"

"Because unlike you I have a crime register in this town and I live here." He had a point, so the youngest one in the room just nodded. Suddenly they heard Estelle asking something in almost a panic tone:

"You are one of Flynn's friends, aren't you?"

"Huh, seems like he finally found someone to talk to", Yuri just remarked while smirking, but the young woman was just frantic about this "Flynn".

"I have to talk with Flynn! Please help me find him!" Ray felt that he didn't had context to their talk and was pouting a bit while lost in thought. All of a sudden Yuri touched him and said:

"Come on, "boss", we have to go." While turning his head around he put on his smirk again instead of a pout face and responded:  
"Oh, don't flatter me with "boss". You can call me "bro" if you want to, wahahahaha!" The boy then glanced over to the pink haired noble and frowned when nobody looked at him. _What the hell is princess __Estellise__ doing here? __And...no, must be my imagination..._

/

**Lucky**

_Ray: Man, you sure are lucky, you know that?_

_Yuri: Having to break out of prison and escorting two people is considered lucky?_

_Ray: Hell yeah! I mean, come on. There is me, a prodigious genius blacksmith and then the damsel in distress who owns you now and who is pretty cute, if you know what I mean!_

_Yuri: Are you...trying to hook me up with a person I just met?_

_Ray: A man at your age should start to think about stuff like that._

_Yuri: Aren't you too young to give me advice about that kind of stuff?_

_Ray: Hey, I'm sixteen already, ya know!_

_Estelle: What are you talking about?_

_Ray: Commoner stuff._

_Yuri: Yup. Now come on, let's get moving._

/

Yuri felt that Ray was hiding something but he let it slide for the moment, since it didn't really concerned him. At least yet, since they would travel together for quite a while. The ex-knight still was a bit skeptical about the fighting abilities of that kid, since he didn't do anything yet except drop kicking a knight – and that wasn't really hard. _Hopefully the kid won't be making trouble... _

The young man then looked over to the pink haired noble and mentally sighed. _I sure attract people who need my help. _He wondered what was so important for her to meet Flynn and he had a bad feeling about it. _I worry too much. This guy is too stubborn to die before he reached his goal...wait, what's that? _The long haired man sniffed in the air and smelled some food, so he said:

"Mmm...something smells tasty." The girl who was with them sniffed too and said surprised:

"Oh, you're right. What could it be?"

"Guys? On the run here? Come on, let's keep going or do you want to get back in prison while you were eating? Mahahahaha!", Ray said loudly and Yuri just shrugged. They didn't need to eat yet, since he got fed with that prison junk a while ago, so they continued their way through the castle halls. After a while of walking and dodging guards (or knocking them out) they finally reached Flynn's room and immediately entered it. Looking inside he just sighed and said:

"He's really keeping this place cleaned up. Flynn must be off gallivanting around somewhere." Ray just groaned, probably because they walked all the way for nothing and Estelle gasped and said discouraged:

"Then that means I'm too late..." _Speaking of which..._Yuri turned around and asked wary:

"So...what sort of wickedness did you do anyway?" The noble girl just tilted her head and replied by the book:

"Me? I haven't done anything wrong." The ex-knight just raised an eyebrow and replied sarcastically:

"And yet a bunch of knights were chasing you around the castle. Yeah, that makes sense."

"I guess she's supposed to stay in her room and she didn't? Looks like an important person", Ray suggested while he was looking out the window, checking their surroundings. Suddenly the girl raised her voice loudly and said:

"Um, you see Yuri!" That surprised him and the kid, ergo he replied with the same tone of surprise he felt right now:

"Whoa, what is it?"

"Okay, you know what? Tell me if you're done with your conversation", Ray said a bit annoyed and leaned at the wall.

"I can't be specific, but Flynn is in great danger! I've got to go and warn him!", the noble said in a serious tone. Yuri sat down on Flynn's bed and said causally:

"So go if you want to go. What's wrong with that?" The girl let her head down and replied disheartened:

"I wish I knew…"

"Listen, I've got something I've gotta take care of right away, too. As soon as things quiet down outside, I want to get back to the lower quarter and then escort this kid to Aspio." He pointed to Ray behind him and was a bit perplexed by the fact that he didn't reply. Maybe he was too focused on checking the surroundings.

"In that case,would you take me with you? Please? Other than Flynn, there's no one I can depend you at least help me get out of the castle? Please, I'm begging you." She bowed down and Yuri just scratched his head.

"Okay, I can see you're serious, but why don't you...Ray? Everyhing okay?" The teenager suddenly moved forward and unsheated his sword he named Blaze, while squinting his eyes. He then replied in a serious tone:

"Get your weapon out. Someone's coming." _What? I didn't heard anything..._

Without warning the door got kicked down and the pink haired one shrieked from the startle. They saw a man slowly approaching through the the door. He had a mix of pink, black and yellow in his hair, which made him look like a punk. He was mostly clad in dark, reddish colors and had a glint of madness in his eyes. At least the others saw that, since Yuri didn't look at him at all.

"Prepare to fall victim to my blade." For whatever reason the guy destroyed a vase with one of his blades he held reversed and Ray just groaned:

"Why does everybody destroys artistic stuff?" Yuri stood up and turned around while saying casually:

"Ever heard of knocking?" The intruder ignored all of that and just went on introducing himself:

"My name is Zagi! The man who will end your life! Now die, Flynn Scifo!"


	2. Chapter 1: Out of the castle

The maniac jumped at Yuri, who quickly dodged out of the way, and Ray also jumped back. With that they surrounded the enemy, but the kid asked the ex-knight:

„I thought your name is Yuri!"

"It is!", the Lower Quarter man replied and went on dodging and blocking the crazy attacks of Zagi, who completely ignored everybody else except of himself. That began to irritate him so he began to push back by shooting an Azure Edge at him which was dodged by both Zagi and Ray, who said confused:

"Then why is this crazy punk calling you Flynn?!" Yuri couldn't answer to that since his opponent only got faster and he had enough, so he counter-stabbed this guy. Sadly he only grazed him but that was enough to let him pause for a moment and mutter:

"Now I feel it..." Before Yuri could answer with a clever remark to this, Zagi dodged a jump kick from Ray and repelled his side slash while he was mid air which led Ray to fly to Yuri's side. The latter raised an eyebrow to that. This kid didn't have a blastia, so why would he risk himself like that?

"Scrap metal! It's way to stuffy for a fight in here!", Ray spat out, without a hint of his childish behavior just now. He was thankful for that but now the crazy guy focused the two of them and laughed insanely:

"Wonderful! Besides Flynn, there is another wonderful pray! Your blood lust is great, kid!" _Bloodlust? _Now that he mentioned it, he felt a chill running down his spine before the kid attacked him. However he decided to dismiss the thought for the moment and concentrated on the fight.

"The only thing I lust for right now is getting the hell out of here!", the teenager spat back and Yuri shot another Azure Edge against his face. This time it hit and threw him to the ground, but he immediately jumped back up and the only response the two got was a loud crazy laugh:

"Mhahahahaha! Yes! This is it! Now I feel truly alive!" The two sane males looked at each other with disbelieving expressions and Yuri muttered:

"What's up with him now?"

"Incoming!", the blacksmith yelled and the two of them blocked each one blade from the assassin, the ex-knight with pointing the tip to the ground and guarding his left side with his left hand that way and Ray with holding the blade with his free left hand pushing back by the backside of the katana. Both of them noticed the stronger force the maniac used and responded with equal effort, though the kid had to put more in. Suddenly they heard the pink haired girl exclaim concerned:

"Yuri, Ray! Let me help you!" In this moment Zagi peeked over to her and at the same time the teenager spat on the assassin's face and the young adult swung his weapon sideways while Ray aimed for a sweep with his right leg. Sadly their opponent jumped back before one of the attacks could hit except for the spit, which he wiped of his face with a smirk. When they noticed the noble approaching with a sword and a shield, she apparently got from nowhere (His money was on Flynn's spare equipment) Yuri shouted protective:

"Stay back!"

"Yeah, that guy ain't your average sparring fighter!" Ray added while twirling his sword in his right hand.

"But-", the girl wanted to say but Zagi interrupted them by yelling excited:

"Bring it! The more the merrier!"

"If things go out of hand, you two run!" The long haired man ordered them and both of them nodded:

"I will."

"Yeah, don't need to tell me that!"

"Oh, don't give up so soon! I haven't had a fight like this in years!" With that the assassin tried to rush at the female behind them but Yuri intercepted him by throwing another Azure Edge at him and while he dodged to the right, Ray closed in with a fairly high speed considering the non-existent blastia he wore and slashed downwards with his left. _Both handed, huh... _When Zagi blocked and tried to get him with his free left, Yuri rushed in too and tried to execute his combo on him, but not before the maniac could change his target and cut him at his free left hand.

"Take this, Flynn!"

"I'm not Flynn!" It wasn't deep enough, but still hurt. Nevertheless he got his combo through, hiding his wound and ending it with his trademark Azure Edge, causing Zagi to fall back again. Ray however didn't gave him a chance to retaliate after the teenager jumped back a little for Yuri and ran behind the enemy. The ex knight then noticed the kid had his sword stuck on his brown leather shoe, which also had some metal parts, after he heard a click sound, looking like an extension of his foot. Apparently there was some space between his boots and some kind of mechanism somehere inside his show so he can stuck his weapon in between in any position. _That seems inconvenient...__but if he's comfortable with it, I won't blame him._Ray then proceeded to Roundhouse-Kick Zagi into the direction of the door and hit him with his blade, which led the enemy fly against the door and with a swift leg movement it clicked agin and the katana was back in his right hand. All of a sudden the assassin's blades flew against the teenager and Yuri, grazing both of them at their shoulders, leaving a small wound on each of them when it came back flying into the maniac's hands after both of them bounced off the shield of the girl, who yelped in response to that.

"Scrap metal! He jumped with the flow of my attack!"

"Wait, let me heal you!", the noble said but Ray pointed at Yuri while pulling out an apple gel:

"Don't need to, got gels! Heal him!"

"Alright. First Aid!" While the kid was applying the medicine on the wound, the ex-knight got healed. The kid seemed to wince in pain, but it would be a normal reaction so he said a bit exhausted:

"Do I look like Flynn?"

"Not in the slightest", she denied almost instantly and Yuri told Zagi frustrated:

"See? You've got the wrong guy. Aren't you supposed to know that stuff?"

"He's not Flynn!" _I think everybody should know by now. _Instead the assassin just shrugged it off and said uncaring:  
"Details, details. Bring it!" The one from the Lower Quarter sighed to that with frustration and mumbled to himself:

"This guy is nuts. Flynn sure made some interesting enemies..."

"Tch...got no choice then...not the ideal conditions but screw it..." Ray's muttering got his attention and turned around to see him picking up his sheath he let on the ground and put it in his mouth. Before something could happen however, a red eyed and black clothed man with some strange knifes coming out of the sleeves.

"Zagi, we gotta bail. The knights are on to us- W-what the hell?! What's he doing here?!" The shady guy looked at Ray in shock and the latter just stood back to normal with his sword already sheathed at his side and grinned:

"Leviathan's claw? Oh boy, the Don is gonna love this! No wonder the clothes were so familiar to me, mahahaha!" _Well that's what I call personality change...__seems like the kid knows about them._

"Zagi, let's go! You won't get to fight if you get caught here! And you'll get your chance to at least kill the kid later!", the red eye ordered the maniac and Yuri actually thought Zagi would just kill this guy. Instead he put his swords away too and gritted his teeth from anger:

"Tch, fine! But if you lie to me, I'll kill you first!" As sudden as the red eye appeared, Zagi turned around with an amused smirk and walked away with the other assassin. Almost right after the two figures left, Ray breathed out strongly and wiped some sweat off his forehead. _Is it just me or is he sweating way more than he should be? Must have a crappy stamina..._

"That was quite a scare, even if I am a Verrier!" The noble tilted her head to his rhyme but Yuri could see a hint of amazement in her eyes. The male adult on the other hand just remarked casually:

"Quite the poet, aren't we? Anyways, we should go too. We'll pay a visit to the goddess and then we're out of here." The kid raised his finger instead to get a move on and exclaimed loudly:

"Alright! Let us go out of this place and move on before they give chase!"

"Um..." Both of the males turned around to see the girl trying to say something and Yuri tried to guess whaat she wants to say by replying:

"Yeah, I know. We stick together until we are out of the castle. Or is it about the rhymes? I'm sorry, but I can't turn him off." The last part was said with his usual teasing style but Ray seemed to be only displeased by his remark:

"Hey, I only try to relax myself! And they're good!"

"Oh, right. But I wanted to say my name is Estellise", the noble introduced herself with a slight bow before Yuri answered with a smile:

"Well then Estellise, let's get a move on."

"First we gotta do something about your dress though. It's not traveling proof, right?" Ray pointed at her clothes with a sceptical look and the girl nodded in agreement.

"My room is on the way. I can change there." We this they moved on to get out of the castle but Yuri walked a bit behind Estellise and Ray, eying the latter with suspicion. This boy had a lot of secrets like the part where an assassin was visibly shocked or even scared of him. And Yuri Lowell does not like secrets. Little did he knew that he'll be soon overloaded with people with secrets.

/

"So, Blaze! Now you're as good as new!" The young brown haired teenager was cleaning his katana while walking and talked with an affectionate tone to it. She didn't accounted for Flynn not really there so these two individuals were a great help. Right now they were on their way out but the princess wanted to change into clothes more fit for a journey.

Estellise didn't know what to think off Yuri or Ray. The best friend of Flynn was like the knight told him he would be: The polar opposite of a knight. She wouldn't believe that the man, who didn't seem to have a real orientation in the castle, would be a knight. She blushed a little bit when she remembered that she accused him to be an imposter mere moments ago and the laughter of the teenager wasn't a real help. Speaking of the teenager, Ray was a mystery to him. He was quite nice to her and had a happy attitude. On the other hand he was a bit intimidating when they fought against Zagi, showing that even a teenager like him had more life experience than her. But she wondered why he picked "Blaze" as a name for his weapon so she asked him carefully:

"Uhm...Ray? Why did you call your sword Blaze?"

"Well, I named her when I was ten so my naming sense wasn't that great at the time I created her. If I would change the name I would name her something more cool like "Tiamat" or something." The instance she heard the name she went into reciting a passage about Tiamat she read about:

"'Tiamat is a chaos monster, a primordial goddess of the ocean, mating with Abzû (the god of fresh water) to produce younger gods.'" Yuri gave her a disbelieving look which signalised her that what she just did wasn't considered common. She blushed a bit but she heard Ray say with the same reciting tone she had moments before:

"'It is suggested that there are two parts to the Tiamat mythos, the first in which Tiamat is 'creatrix', through a "Sacred marriage" between salt and fresh water, peacefully creating the cosmos through successive generations. In the second "Chaoskampf" Tiamat is considered the monstrous embodiment of primordial chaos.' Oh wow, didn't know that I'm not the only sucker for mythology and stories!" Estellise's face lightend up by a tenfold and was really excited. She had something in common with one of the people in this group. This way she can surely work on her social skills. Yuri on the other hand sighed and replied:

"Oh, great. Two bookworms. Now I feel left out." _Is this what they call sarcasm?_

"You can always read books yourself, mahahaha! They give you ideas!" Apparently Flynn's friend didn't want to answer since he asked another question instead commenting his statement:

"What was that what you wanted to do back then? The part with putting your sheath in your mouth?" This intrigued the princess too and looked at the teenager with curiosity. Ray however didn't had any attention to share and said playfully:

"Secret~!" Estellise was a bit disappointed by the answer he gave but she didn't pester him about it. Maybe he would tell them later since they didn't know each other that well yet. Yuri on the other hand just scowled and continued his pressing. She didn't notice that Yuri was interrogated him with subtlety what Ray of course knew.

"...Fine. Then why are you shivering all the time? Especially when we were in Flynn's room?" In this moment she and Yuri noticed how nervous he became when the adult asked for this. The girl didn't notice but it seemed that Yuri was dead on with his claim. Ray laughed like always though it had a trace of uncomfortableness and he averted his eyes which were filled with a bit of fear for a few moments. She only learned a bit about how to read people's emotion and she had to admit she wasn't the best in it but in the short time period she could recognized it in his eyes.

"Well...it was kinda cold and I dislike tight and dark places. You could say I have a slight phobia against it." She expected Yuri to pressure him more so she wanted to step in but instead he just said calmly:

"Alright then. Since it's obvious that the reason of your phobia is personal I won't press you on that, even if I'm not happy with all the secret stuff." The teenager smirked to him and replied enthusiastically:

"Maybe I'll tell you later. We have time until Aspio, right?" Yuri smirked back and continued walking. Estellise was fascinated by the level of interaction she saw and knew she didn't made a mistake by following them. Warning Flynn was one thing but this was her opportunity to know more about the world. Unbeknownst to her she would know more about the world than she ever hoped for.

/

According to the princess they were getting closer to the statue and her room where she wanted to change her clothes to which Yuri could only agree to that. A dress would only hinder them so he was glad she at least understood why. Though the closer they got the clearer they could hear screams and the clashing of blades. When they arrived at a circular area where you could look down, they could see that the floor beneath them was complete chaos. Yuri was able to see the knights coming from the entrances but not what happened in the middle of the area since only a gigantic dust cloud was there.

"I wonder if this is because of those guys earlier..." He mumbled pretty much to himself but not quiet enough, since Estellise made her own comment:

"I hope no one was hurt..." The ex-knight sighed. He didn't want to see her worry so much so he reassured her:

"Don't worry. The knights can protect themselves." Ray snorted to that but kept his poker face when Yuri threw him a scowl. But Estellise still sounded worried:

"Yes, I guess so..." Suddenly a loud voice Yuri knew all to well was sounding across the castle:

"YURI LOWELL! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

"That must be Leblanc. I would recognize that voice from everywhere," Yuri explained to the confused faces of his two companions and groaned. After everything happened thus far he really had no motivation to play with his second favorite knight the teasing game.

"Do you two know each other?", Estellise asked interested and he just replied casually:

"We have a bit of a history with each other. Come on, let's go." While they fasten their steps Ray walked next to him and asked curious:

"Seriously, how many times did you piss him off that he's so fixated at you?" Yuri replied with a short "Apparently enough" before they focused on walking. After a while and beating up a lots of knights, who spotted them, they finally arrived at the noble's room. Estellise hurried to the door while Ray went to the opposite wall and leaned at it, trying to regain his stamina from the previous struggles. The knights weren't strong but because of the commotion apparently every single knight was on their way to the source. That also meant they had to fight against them and Yuri and Ray split them up evenly. Big problem was, the kid's stamina was crappy. Well, not crappy but worse than an average person at his age. Another problem: His phobia was probably the real thing since he became sloppy. There were some close calls back there if Estellise didn't distracted them with some Pow Hammers.

"Wait for me here, I won't take long", she said and went in. He glanced over to the teenager and when he saw him sharpening his blade with a whetstone, he approached the door. It wasn't like he was going to peek since he just wanted to make sure she was safe. Though he had to admit a bit eye candy wouldn't hurt him too but of course he would never say it out loud. She was cute according to his first impressions, but he wouldn't make any moves. At least yet. _Damn that kid, now I have weird thoughts._ Sadly for him Estellise's head shows up and she reached for the rapier she left at the side of the door.

"Just in case", she assured him but the ex-knight said defensively:

"Hey, it's not like I was going to peek on you." She smiled and told him casually:

"Well, Flynn said to be careful around you when I would meet you." With that she closed the door and Yuri turned around and sighed.  
"Wow, Thanks Flynn." To his demise the kid saw everything and he groaned internally when he saw the wide grin on his face.

"Weren't gonna to peek, huh? Sure. Well, I am glad you took my words back then at heart but aren't you advancing a bit too fast? Mahahahaha!" Yuri waved him off and said a bit annoyed after he leaned back at one of the pillars:

"Can it, kid. Too soon to talk about this stuff."

"That was not a no", Ray pointed out with and raised eyebrow but Yuri countered with his own smirk:

"That was not a yes." After a moment of silence the weapons lover raised his arms in defeat and playfully said:

"Fine, you win this round. But when I'll be right, I have free permission to mock you for a day about it." Yuri shrugged at it since he expected it never to happen and replied with a non caring voice:

"Sure, why not." Since they were bored the ex-knight asked him about Dahngrest. He heard about it but he never was there. The only things he heard, which weren't propaganda against them, was that it was the opposite of the empire and the place for guilds. Melzom Keider alone wasn't proof that all guild members were like him. He wondered what happened to the leader of the local guild from Shizotania. _Shizotania..._Yuri scowled when he thought about the town and what happened back then. He looked at his blastia at his wrist, but looked up again to listen to Ray.

"You're more free than here, that's for sure and only need to follow a few rules by the Guild Union. If you do that you can do your own thing. But it doesn't mean it's the romantic Eden. There are a bunch of corrupted criminals or people who are connected with the underworld. Nevertheless, I wouldn't move out of Dahngrest without a good reason. The Don and my buddy there are making it worth for me." _Do your own thing...I would pick that over the empire. But I shouldn't act rashly about it._

They were interrupted by the sound of the door and they both looked over at the new clothes of Estellise and Yuri knew he wasn't the only one to be impressed by it. The dress was mostly white with golden decorations on them which fitted the boots she wore. Under the white part she wore a fairy gown styled, light pink dress, though the lower part covered her legs, which were clad in brown pants. Her pink hair was now down but that didn't change anything with her noble presence. Even when Yuri was wearing his poker face but he really found a pretty. Ray just whistled and Estellise asked unsure:

"What? Do...do I look strange?"

"It's well made! Believe me if I say it fits you, since forging is just another form of art!" She lightened up by his comment but Yuri didn't want to be honest since it would only give the kid more things to tease him with so he said instead:

"I was just thinking this doesn't suits you either." He heard Ray cough "liar" but he ignored it. Estellise looked a bit down by it. Then however she walked up to the two of them and gave Yuri her hand. He was confused by it and asked:

"What's this?"

"A handshake. It means, nice to meet you." He was taken aback by her innocence so he just silently shook her hand and turned around while Ray shook her hand too, only with less awkwardness.

"Alright, let's go."

"Right!", both of them said and went on their way to the statue.

For quite some time then they didn't meet any knights anymore and such they walked in silence. Apparently it was too quiet for Estellise since she raised her voice and asked curious:

"That man...Zagi...are there any more people like him outside the castle?"

"Nah, he's one of a kind. It's pretty hard to find anyone that nuts", Yuri explained to her but Ray interjected:

"Actually, they're not that rare if you go outside Zaphias. On the other hand I only know about a handful of maniacs like him." Estellise now was relieved to hear this and said:

"Oh, that's a relief! I would've been worried if everyone are like him." The two males nodded in agreement and Yuri stopped. They were there. The statue of the goddess was right in the middle of the big quadratic room and was placed on a star pattern.

"Well, I guess we found out statue."

"Is there something special with the statue?", Estellise asked confused but to their surprise Ray stated:

"It's activating some kind of mechanism or is hiding something."

"And how do you know that?" Yuri questioned with a raised eyebrow and Ray gave him a smirk.

"See the squares next to the statue? One of them is gray while the others are brownish. It's pretty obvious", the kid analyzed for them and the girl was impressed by it:

"Wow, it's amazing how you can discover this so quickly!" The compliment seemed to boost his ego since his smirk became wider and he explained proudly:

"I'm an artist. Most things like that are always in symmetry except of statues maybe. And I don't think they forgot to color this part so yeah. We should move it."

"Didn't you said you were a blacksmith?", the ex-knight remarked and Ray pouted a bit angry:

"Like I said before, it's the same as being an artist!" Yuri waved it off and said ordering:

"Sure. Now give me a hand." Both of them pulled at the cube the statue was standing on and after little effort a hole was there where the goddess was before and a ladder led to the underground.

"What do we have here? The old man and the kid were right all along" Yuri mostly mumbled to himself and looked down. It was very deep so he assumed it would lead to the underground sewers of the capital.

"Do you think it will lead outside?" Estellise asked hopefully and Ray replied with a thoughtful tone:

"Probably. This looks like your average emergency exit in case of invasion. Or if you're a bad role model of a noble." It sounded logical to Yuri but it wasn't a guarantee so he stated his opinion:

"We can't know for sure though. So, you sure you're coming with us?" He looked over to the pink haired girl and looked at her with expectation. After a short hestitation she raised her head and said convinced:

"...Yes." Yuri smiled and complimented her:

"That's pretty brave of you...who was that guy anyway? He seemed shady..." Nobody seemed to hear his mumbling about the old man who gave him the tip so they walked towards the ladder. Suddenly Estellise pulled at his arm and had a concerned look on her face. Yuri was confused by it and asked:

"What's wrong? You changed your mind?"

"No, your hand. It's injured. Let me take a look on it." She took the hand and cast a healing arte on it. In that moment Yuri was shocked since she didn't use her blastia while doing it so he abruptly took her hand after he got healed. Estellise pulled her hand immediately back after she gasped in shock and seemed to be a bit scared. _Great, now I will bad._

"Ah, sorry. I just never saw such a blastia. I wasn't thinking", Yuri said, trying to fix the situation but the noble still looked at him with suspicion and asked:

"That's really all to it?" _All right, last resort. _He smiled thankfully and said:

"Yup, really. My hand feels all better now. Thanks." This brought the intended effect since she became flustered about it and tried to play it down:

"No! It's the least I can do!"

"Good. Let's go...Hey kid, You okay?" Yuri and Estellise looked over to Ray, who groaned and held his hand against his head as if he's in pain. He also stood father away than a few moments ago. Both of them looked worried but the teenager just raised his hand and said cheerfully:

"Yeah...just a bit of a headache...maybe we should have eaten in that mess hall." The ex-knight just sighed since he wouldn't be able to get more out of him so he just walked up to him and laid his hand on the kid's shoulder while he pulled out a piece of bread out of his pocket.

"If you say so...here. Eat some bread. We don't know what's down there." He took it and grinned:

"Thanks...you go ahead. I'm right behind you." The two adults nodded and went the hole down first but they didn't notice at the time that Ray was shivering way more than before and had a scared expression when he looked down the hole.


	3. Chapter 2: Beginning of a journey

Yuri climbed down the ladder after Estellise and looked around: It seemed that they were in some kind of underground sewer under the castle. The entire area was a bit lighten up by blastia on the walls. The smell was terrible and smelled rotten. He wouldn't be surprised if some food the nobles threw down here would start to move.

"Sewers? Well that's just a cliche", he said just for fun but then noticed how something fell behind him. The ex-knight turned around and widened his eyes as the girl gasped in shock: The teenager who was with them cowered on the ground and breathed heavenly, hiding himself under his arms. Estellise immediately walked up to him and asked worried:

"Ray? Are you okay?" The boy's breathing got less intense over time and raised himself while opening his eyes. They were filled with fear but faded slowly away. He took one last deep breath and said quietly, but steadily raised his tone:

"J-just n-need...to calm...down...alright, let's get outta here." The moment he was done with the sentence he seemed mostly okay, but Yuri didn't bought that. When he wasn't that big of a help up there he definitely wouldn't be now since they were in sewers and that fact seemed to be enough to make the kid even more scared as before. Deciding that Ray is in no condition to fight he said reassuring but still with his usual cynical tone:

"Wow, when you said that you can't handle dark and closed places you weren't kidding. Stay back with her and I handle the front." The blacksmith looked down while standing next to the noble and said ashamed:

"More like human made environments...I'm fine with caves or forests...sorry." Now this was interesting for Yuri. _Apparently this kid is more the nature time, huh? _However he didn't push the matter, since the boy seemed traumatized and he kinda understood the feeling. He patted his shoulder and smiled at him:

"Hey, we can't really choose our fears, can we?" Ray was relieved to hear that since he lightened up a bit, but before they could move forward, a group of small, round rats approached from the side.

"So...those are monsters...", Estellise said astonished but worried at the same time and Yuri raised an eyebrow to that:

"You never met a monster?" This was embarassing for her since she only stuttered:

"U-uhm..."

"To be specific, they're ratwigles. And there are more of them", Ray pointed at their front and more ratwigles closed in to them. Yuri groaned and got ready for the incoming battle:

"Tch...this is annoying...we do the same as before. You two watch each others back and take care of one side. I take the other side." With that they unsheathed their weapon and threw their sheaths to the side (except of Estellise) before the masses of rats went in for their attack. For any normal person this would have been too much, but Yuri and Estellise had their bodhi blastia while Ray was pretty good at holding his own, even without a blastia. Because of that it didn't take long to kill the enemy horde. Now they just tried to get out of the sewers as far as possible for the sake of Ray and their dignity. The whole trip they made wasn't eventful, since they only moved some boxes and picked up a few items. After a while the girl in the trio said suddenly:

"I need to thank whoever told you about this underground passage." Yuri on the other hand was confused of why she should do that, so he asked:

"Why would you need to be thankful for something like that?"

"I'm trying to get out of the castle, just like you", she explains with a smile but this didn't convinced him to be thankful at all.

"That's all well and good...but there's no need to be all thankful because of it."

"Oh no. We must show courtesy to those who show us kindness", Estellise scolded him with a frown and the man countered:

"Sort of weird to be polite to somebody you've never met, don't you think?" The woman on the other hand continued with her scolding and said stern:

"Manner are never so important as when dealing with those whom we have yet to be acquainted."

"You really think so?", he wondered and Estellise replied serious:

"I know so. Am I right, Ray?" With this she pointed the focus on the young teenager who looked around for an exit. He turned around with the mention of his name and gave his opinion in the little discussion with a thoughtful look:

"Well, without the hint we might have walked around in the castle for who knows how long. And being nice is always good, especially in the business area. "

"Oh, what would you about it?" Yuri couldn't resist putting in his cynicism into the matter and he got the desired result: Ray became irritated.

"You think I can be successful in forging business if I have no idea about it? I need to make orders, bargain about prices, set week plans, blabla."

"I still doubt you actually are your own man. My hunch is that you're some student or something", the ex-knight stated his opinion and Ray smirked to that:

"Gotta come to me in Dahngrest then, if you want prove, mahahaha! Or we could get confirmation by some guild members we walk by." Yuri sighed and took the lead again. He had to suppress a smile though, since the kid was adamant about proving his independence and talent. It kinda reminded him of himself as a child and his fighting style resembled his own: Mostly self taught, with the only difference that Yuri based it off knight artes. The kid seemed to come up with all his moves alone. While drowned in his thoughts he didn't notice how Estellise began to talk with Ray.

/

Estellise was a bit angry at Yuri. Not because he was evil or something like that. No, she was angry because he didn't believe the young man being talented. She knew it would be rare but seeing how passionate and obviously knowledgeable Ray was, she couldn't understand why nobody would believe him. She decided to cheer him up with a compliment:

"I think it's formidable, being so young and still so independent!" First Ray looked confused but then brightened up in mere seconds and exclaimed loudly:

"That's because I'm a prodigious genius!" Apparently he was loud enough for Yuri, since he replied offhandedly:

"Sure you are." Estellise tilted her head. It sounded serious but remembering his attitude to the teenager she asked Ray for confirmation:

"Was that-"

"Yes, this was sarcasm. Why do you ask? I think it was pretty obvious", Ray interjected with a curious tone and the noble replied:

"I didn't have that many classes, since I wanted to focus on self defense in case somebody would try to attack me."

"Well...understandable for a princess." Estellise nodded in silence but something about this sentence bothered her. A few moments later she realized what was wrong: She never told them she was the second heir of the throne, did she?

"How did you-"

"I got my sources. You should keep it a secret in public though. If you want to tell Yuri, it's your thing. Don't worry, I'm good at keeping secrets", he reassured her with a smile she rated as genuine but Estellise needed to know how he knew about her identity. The only ones would be the ones inside the castle and there's no way a person from another continent would know just like that.

"What kind of sources?"

"Let's say my relatives gave me a lot of information. Come on, let's go." This made a bit more sense to her. If he was related to retired knights or diplomats while she was younger then he would have the opportunity to know about it. Still, she had her doubts but decided that she shouldn't press the topic. People would call her naive but she truly believed that the teenager was a nice boy, even if he was quite mysterious sometimes. However she was worried about his past. His scars on his hands didn't seem to be only from forging except if he was self taught, but this would raise the question on how he's still alive. The robe he wore was big enough to cover his entire body as if he tried to hide something. She may be raised in a castle, shut off from the outside but this meant more time for observing the things she saw, even if she needs some time before noticing something. Sure, humans and their emotions weren't her expertise but she wasn't the only one who had difficulties with this. After while they arrived at the ladder which probably led to the outside and Ray immediately climbed up first. Estellise waited for Yuri to climb up next but he only waited and stared at her expectantly.

"So? Go up already." She blushed a little bit and said carefully:

"Uhm...why?"

"Well, it's safer if I go last and the two of you go first, right?", he said with a confused tone and Estellise saw, that he didn't got the issue. On the other hand she didn't want to say the problem with him climbing after her flat out so she just said with a shy tone:

"...I don't think that's a good idea..."

"Huh? I don't really see a problem...oh. Okay, understand." Yuri climbed up the ladder while the girl pouted. Was she so unfeminine that he didn't react at all? She was a bit insulted even if it would have been embarrassing if he looked from below. Still, she was glad that they didn't treated her differently based on her heritage and noble appearance, especially Ray since he knew about her secret.

/

"It's already morning. I wasted an entire night. Looks like it led to the royal quarter", Yuri said a bit frustrated, but Ray didn't care. He was free. Outside. He took deep breaths and wanted to scream in delight but decided to hold back for now. Ray looked at the others and saw Estellise looking around in amazement. Understandable for him, since a princess wouldn't even be allowed to go out on the backyard. Fitting her curiosity she whispered astonished:

"Everything looks so different from the windows of the castle."

"Ah, come on. You sound like this is your first time out of the castle." Ray had to fight back a snort at Yuri's disbeliving comment which led to some stuttering from the noble:

"Uhm...well...I..."

"I guess a lady who lives in a castle can't just take a walk outside whenever she wants", the ex-knight said with an empathic tone and Estellise replied slowly:

"Yes...you're right." Yuri probably still thought she was still just a noble or if he had suspicion than his poker face was one of the best the teenager ever saw.

"Do you smell this, people?! THIS IS THE SMELL OF AIR AND FREEDOM!", Ray yelled out and threw his arms in the air since he couldn't keep his happiness down anymore. He tried and he failed, so nobody could judge him in his opinion.

"And you'll lose it rather quickly if you keep yelling like that...well, at least we got out of the castle", Yuri sighed and held his hand in the air. The blacksmith smirked when an idea came up in his head: What would a sheltered princess like Estellise do in such a situation. His expectations didn't betray him when the girl walked up to the male adult and poked it with her index finger. Yuri laughed in an awkward manner while the teenager had to pinch himself to not die from laughter. Estellise tilted her head in confusion and asked:

"Um, was that not right?"

"Nah...it's fine...", Yuri assured her but Ray, who calmed himself down, raised his hand and demanded:

"No it's not! Gimme some!" The adult smirked to this and gave him a high five. Then he turned around to the embarrassed noble and asked:

"So, Estellise...what are you gonna do now that you're out?" The determined look on her face came almost instantly when she replied:

"I'm going to find Flynn."

"Do you know where he went?", Yuri asked while making sure nobody saw them yet.

"The other day, he said he was going off on a knight's pilgrimage", she explains and Yuri seemed to be lost in memories. Probably from his times as a knight, if Ray had to guess.

"Ohhh, that thing. Going around the cities of the empire piling up good deeds?"

"Yes, that's why I'm going to the City of Blossoms, Halure." The teenager perked up. Halure? This was the place where one or even his only friend in Dahngrest wanted to impress a certain strict and cold but actually nice girl. He wondered if his friend was okay or not. The potential as one of the strongest fighters in Dahngrest or even the whole continent was there if it's only about power but Ray still worked on the courage problem. Still, he had to be in the present now and tuned back into the conversation when he heard Estellise ask Yuri:

"Were you ever outside the barrier?" He could swear that the ex-knight flinched a bit. Evidence that something bad happened "a little while ago". Still, this moment was only lasting an instance and Yuri said thoughtful.

"A little while ago...I'm not sure if I should just leave the lover quarter as it is but...I already took on the mission to escort the kid so..."

"I bet they can handle themselves. Anyways, lead the way!", Ray exclaimed loudly and pushed his (forced) bodyguard to the lower quarter and Yuri tried to calm him down:

"Alright, alright."

They were walking for a while, trying to not get any attention pointing on them and there were several times where he and Yuri had to hold back Estellise because she was curious. Personally Ray didn't like it in the royal quarter. It was way too clean and noble for his tastes. He liked it more simple and even small, as long as it's comfortable. Seeing how they weren't found yet he joked:

"Hey, funny that nobody found us yet, huh?"

"You there, fugitives! Halt, I say!"

"The jig is up!"

"Fools! Enough grandstanding. Arrest them! Yuri Lowell, this time you won't escape." The urge of shouting a lot of inappropriate things was only suppressed by the presence of the princess. Those things had to happen to him as it seems and Yuri wasn't doing a great job on distracting Ray when he commented with a sarcastic tone:

"Great job kid."

"I'm pretty sure they have an inbuilt Yuri-Detector from what I can see. But yeah, shouldn't have jinxed it", Ray admitted reluctantly and Estellise asked with a nervous tone:

"W-what should we do?" The grin on Yuri's face made Ray grin himself, especially when he said:

"Easy. Ray, wanna take one of them?"

"Sure!"

"Alright. First you take one of these...", he picked up a little stone and the teenager did the same," and then do this!" It was quite funny to see how the two wannabe knights fell on the ground as if someone shot them with a cannonball but they couldn't stay there and hurried to the Lower Quarter. Arriving there the blacksmith felt a lot more comfortable. Sure it was dirty but if actually felt like a home and not like a giant decorating flower. Only downside was the fact that everything in this area was wet and smelled even worse than it usually probably was. The source of the stench and water came from the fountain and Ray noticed that there wasn't a blastia anymore. Suddenly an elder male voice with a strange accent sounded through the area:

"Yuri! Where've you been?!" An older man approached the ex-knight, who remarked casually:

"I got an invitation to the castle and had the most marvelous time."

"Of all the...and who's the young lady and the kid?" Looking over to Ray and Estellise and tilted his head a bit in confusion. The latter walked up to him and bowed politely which was probably drilled into her before she could even speak:

"Pleased to meet you I'm Estellise."

"The pleasure is all mine, Miss." Doing the same the old man bowed down too and then looked at Ray. Seeing the opportunity he throws his right arm in the air, pointing into the sky and looked down dramatically before exclaiming enthusiastic:

"And I'm Ray Verrier, best blacksmith in the world and this meeting makes me overwhelmed!" Silence filled the air for a short time with Yuri facepalming, Estellise looking intrigued by his behavior and a blank face by the elder. Seconds later however it changes to a smile and he laughed heartily:

"Hahahaha! Interesting boy you picked up! Er, more importantly, about those Imperial Knights..." Seeing as the topic was a local one he followed Estellise who walked up to the fountain and looked around for a while. Since he didn't had anything better to do he started with some small talk, hence he said jokingly:

"And, what do you think? A bit too dirty for your standards?" After frowning at this statement for a moment she closes her eyes and smiles while saying admiring:

"I would be lying if I said that this area wouldn't be dirty, but I believe that is not their fault. But it's so...lively around here. Everybody seem to know each other."

"Humans are frail beings. If you don't have the strength, make it up with numbers", he said with a hint of spitefulness but Estellise didn't notice this and only frowned at his scientific definition.

"Not how I would've phrased it but you're right. These people need each other, so they work together. It's beautiful...It's sad though, that their aque blastia doesn't work anymore." Ray snorted to her sad tone and pulled out some kind of goggles, which had blue lenses, a bronze coating around it and black rubber to fix it on his eyes, while saying disapproving:

"Meh, people rely too much on blastia...huh, pretty high quality considering where it was." On the lenses of his goggles he can see a lot a data being calculated and when it was finally done it showed him the aer level around the area. The blastia may be gone now but it still left it's traces, leading the fountain to have a lot of aer in its surroundings. The trail, which was highlighted in red, led to the gate outside and Ray decided to remember to properties of this trail. Aer may be invincible to the human eye but with the help of his glasses he could get exact details about it. Through that he could scientifically prove that two beings, living or not, never had the same features. After he was done with the analysis he put his goggles back into his side pocket of his vest. Suddenly Estellise asked innocently:

"Aren't those blastia too?" With a grin he stated proudly:

"Nope, made and calibrated them myself! Blastia might be the most versatile ones, but with the right stuff you can make something small like this without a core. Even if barriers are quite impossible right now."

"How did you create something like this?" Chuckling at her thirst for knowledge and her shining eyes Ray explained more thoroughly as if he would be in front of a student:

"For this I just needed lenses which would be stable enough to use aer as an energy for doing calculating and analyzing stuff. I used mithril for the lenses and bronze for the coating since it would be too expensive making blastia body parts. To make the mithril into glass was a bit tricky, but I managed to do so."

"But how does it absorb aer without a core?"

"The formula for cores is really complicated, yes. That only means however that I have to use another formula that is easy enough to put it on different things. But how...is. A. Secret ~!" The noble pouted at his playful behavior and Ray doesn't feel bad about it at all since it was a private matter to him how to make something like this and he was probably the only one on this planet who knew how to use them efficiently as far as he knew. Before Estellise could press the matter more however a familiar voice rang through the lower quarter:

"Yuri Lowell! You may have incapacitated my two men, but you cannot escape! Be a good boy and turn yourself in!" Yuri groaned at this and mumbled while walking towards the exit:

"Why only me? This kid also escaped...well, our cue to go. Looks like I won't be here for a while." Wanting to comment to his sentence Ray breathed in for yelling but the elder man beat him to it:

"Never getting bored when Yuri is around. After this we're even for getting us that money back."

"Just make sure you don't kick the bucket because you blew everything into some crazy party."

"Heh, same to you. Make sure you don't go dying in any ditches."The level of sassiness on both sides made the teenager assume that the ex-knight learned his sarcasm from here. Nevertheless the noble bowed down in politeness:

"It was nice to meet you sir."

"He'll probably be quite a pain in the neck. You make sure you take care of yourself, Miss. You too kid." Ray gave him a thumps up and exclaimed:

"Sure! Let's go!" Turning around he could see how the old man made a hand sign and in that moment the knight was rushed by dozens of people. The trio smiled at this and wanted to get out as far as possible when a second wave crashed into them and they were squeezed from all sides. Trying to get out he heard several people talking to Yuri, words of encouragement, scolding and so on.

"Don't you make her cry!", some random woman yelled and Ray instantly replied to that:

"See?! Even other people say that!"

"I have no idea what you're-Hey! Quit pushing!...Ouch! Who hit me? I'll remember that!"

"Here, this might come handy when you go to Halure!"

"Hey, this thing is almost empty!"

"What did you expect? Almost nobody goes out of the barrier, so you just have to fill it out yourself. You should go to Deidon Hold first." The context was lost on Ray so he assumed Yuri got a map or something like that. After a long struggle they finally got through the masses and the ex-knight was full packed with gels, bread, a map and other supplies which he commented with a whistle:

"Well, that's a lot of stuff they gave you."

"Wow, Yuri. They're all going to miss you so much", Estellise said as amazed but Yuri decided to play it down or he was just cynical, since Ray couldn't really tell the difference:

"Honestly, they're probably thrilled to finally get rid of me."

"I second that." He grinned when Yuri frowned at him and searched his pockets for more stuff they gave him.

"Hey, no need to be mean...Hey, hold it! Who put money in here?! I can't take this!" Before the ex-knight could go back however the teenager holded him back at his shoulder and said mockingly:

"Yeah, no. I wouldn't go back if I were you. Besides, you don't complain for all the supplies, so suck it up. I'll pay you later if you insist on giving it back."

"Tch...fine. Still, I don't feel all that good on taking this." As they began to walk off the knight who followed them approached them with a high speed but fell to the ground as a dog with a pipe and a scar across the left eye used its tail to sweep of his legs. Yuri grinned and complimented the dog:

"Nice one Repede."

"A dog?", Estellise said surprised and Ray waved his hand with a smile:

"Sup buddy!" As he wanted to get closer to Repede, the dog jumped back a little distance and growled at him. In this instance his smile fell a bit but he tried to stay casual, even as Yuri raised an eyebrow to that.

"Well, now it's north to Deidon Hold", Yuri announced and brought the noble out of her trance:

"What? Oh, right!"

"I don't know how long we'll stick together. Here's to the road ahead, Estelle, Ray." As Yuri ended his sentence Ray gave him props for coming up with a nickname that sounds actually pretty nice for him. Of course he didn't said it out loud since he was busy observing Estelle being amazed by her new nickname.

"Yes, I...huh? Es...telle...Estelle...Estelle. To the road ahead, Yuri, Ray."

"To the road ahead as you said!", Ray rhymes and gave him a chuckle from the two of them.


	4. Chapter 3: Deidon Hold

Repede and the others were traveling with each other for a few hours since they left the town before they arrived at a weird cart with two people in front of it. Before they arrived there however the dog made some first judgments upon the two newcomers: Estelle, the girl with the pink hair, was what the humans would call naive and inexperienced. She was mumbling all over her nickname the moment they left town and thus wasted their time. Another annoying thing about this girl was the fact that she always tried to pat him, which he of course flat out refused. She had to earn his respect and she didn't had it yet, since her sword play was solely defensive and not honed.

The other person was the teenager Ray and he didn't like his smell at all. Not that his personality was terrible or something, it was quite likeable how playful he can be at times, but also serious at other times. The teenager was pretty fast for a young man too, even if his stamina his pitiful. He could hear his owner Yuri mention something about him being faster and more focused than before. Nevertheless, his instincts told the dog to avoid Ray and Repede didn't knew why except of the smell, which he could only define as weird. Deciding to keep his distance at first and growling every time he got close to him, he listened to the conversation with the other two humans in front of them, a male and a female. After a little misunderstanding, in which Yuri and Estelle were mistaken as mating partners, they decided to rest inside they traveling inn. With they only his owner and the girl were meant, since the dog liked it more when he had more room. In this case it was outside. What he didn't expected however was that Ray also stayed outside and seemed to concentrate on something while sitting in a cross-legged position. When Repede approached him the teenager immediately broke his concentration and looked at the animal. Repede was surprised that a kid like him could notice him that fast, but nevertheless he got closer to him. The dog wasn't really tired yet and therefore bored, so he silently sat a few meters away from the boy because of the smell.

"Hey, Repede. Can't sleep either?" The dog barked as a response, which meant yes, full knowing that nobody than Flynn and Yuri could actually understand him.

"I see...you know, I like it to be outside, in the nature. You feel truly free when you're outside...well, not that I'm complaining to our pairing in the cart for not being outside", he said with a smile and Repede snorted to his last comment. As if his master would mate at all.

"Oh come on, he's a guy too." Repede raised his head in surprise: Did the teenager understand him? He barked an insult to see how he would react. However the teenager looked a bit confused and said unsure:

"Uhm...I guess you asked me if I can understand you? Well, not really. I try to read what you mean from the context and your body language, so no, I can't understand you like Yuri does." The dog snorted in amusement and observed the boy for a while.

"Your instincts probably tell you to stay away from me. Maybe they're right..." He seemed relaxed, but there was the hint of loneliness and fear in his eyes. The question was: Before what was he afraid? His words didn't made sense with his loneliness. Repede decided to observe him longer to get his answer.

/

"Deidon Hold, people!", Ray exclaimed and held his arms for a demonstration. The team arrived at the town during midday and they all noticed the knights walking around and Estelle asked worried:

"Do you think they followed us all the way here?"

"That wouldn't make any sense since then they should be behind us. They might have heard about the outbreak though", Ray remarked as a suggestion and Yuri shrugged to it and said:

"Whatever the case is, let's try not to stand out. Wonder if we can just walk through here. Come...on. Where is she now?"

"Over there, at the shop, reading", the teenager said to his asking face and he sighed when he saw the girl being absorbed in a book. Ray on the other hand found it cute how much she valued knowledge and hoped that Yuri would put his nose into some in near time. As they walk up to her, the shopkeeper smiled at them (or more at Yuri) and began his advertisement as he showed a sword from his assortment:

"This blade was forged by none other than Assam the blademaster. It even comes equipped with weapon skills. No traveler should be without them. Feel free to give it a try." Knowing what he meant with weapon skills, Ray kept his silence, but the long haired adult on the other hand raised his eyebrow:

"What do you mean?" The noble girl looked up as if on cue and recited "The history of creation, Band 2 - Forging":

"The special techniques contained in weapons. 'These techniques were originally passed down from master to pupil but the blademaster Assam used a special process to seal them within the weapons themselves. Bodhi blastia can acquire techniques from weapons imbued with this power. With continued use, weapon artes can eventually be learned by the person using the weapon.'"

"My, that sums it up pretty much. This young lady knows her stuff." After the merchant complimented her, she smiled and gave them more information:

"I read in a book that the Kritya gave this knowledge to humans long ago."

"Huh, I thought bodhi blastia only let you use magic and strike artes. Did you know about that stuff, Mister Blacksmith?" Ray snorted in annoyance as Yuri asked him this and said frowning:

"Of course I do. Doesn't mean I like it though. People rely too much on blastia and all that fancy stuff nowadays. But if you want to, I can make or reforge weapons to be like the ones from Assam." To others it would seem strange to see somebody rejecting blastia that much, but the teenager knew one could survive without one, since he's a living proof in his opinion. Yuri looked at him for a moment with a neutral expression before he turned back to the merchant:

"This place doesn't look like the best place for business."

"Yeah, I'm not here because I want to. The monsters on the other side of the Hold are active again, so I'm stuck for the meanwhile", the man said and shook his head. Ray groaned and mumbled to himself:

"Great, then we have to use the other path..."

"Other path?", Yuri asked and the teenager elaborated what he meant:

"Well, not really sure if that is a path at all. I noticed a forest in the west from here. In the worst case scenario, we gotta go through that." The ex-knight made a thoughtful face for a while before deciding what to do next:

"Let's keep this in mind and search for alternatives, shall we? Estelle?" However the girl didn't make a noise when her name was called due to the fact that she was engulfed in the book. When Ray cleared he throat she looked up in recognition and Yuri repeated himself:

"I said I'll go search for information with Ray while you stay here."

"Oh, I'll come too." She wanted to put the book back, but the shopkeeper shook his head and

gave it to her for free. As Yuri took some glances in the book, Ray looked around to see if he can see a few familiar faces and he did: On the walls was the leader of Fortune Market, Kaufman in all her glory with her red long hair and glasses. Ray asked himself if she ever wore something different in her life besides the white shirt, the brown gloves and the orange-white vest. Another notable person was a man, standing on the same wall with long white hair, who had a mysterious aura around him (at least he thought it was a man) and was dressed mostly in different shades of red besides the golden shoulder guards. The person looked familiar to him, therefore his theory him being a male, but he wasn't so sure about that. Before he could look around more, a bell rang loudly through the area and Ray spat to the ground out of frustration as he felt and heard the rumbling getting louder and louder: Monsters. People gathered at the gates and it was quite hectic as the knights were trying to close the gates. The group got closer to get a better view and they saw the giant wave of monsters closing in, with the Lord of Plains right behind them. Estelle gasped in astonishment and muttered:

"Are those... monsters?"

"The moment I leave the capital, something like this happens! That's it, I'm cursed! I know it!", Yuri complained and Ray couldn't help and said quietly to himself while looking down:

"Maybe I'm the one who's cursed..." As Kaufman yelled that there are still other people out there, the ex-knight said with a hurrying tone:

"What was that?"

"Nothing! So, what are we...doing...now...Guys?" As the blacksmith looked up, the human duo already went ahead to get the rest into the hold, while the dog stopped the knight from closing the gates. He groaned at this situation and ran forward to help. The dust cloud in the horizon created by the monsters was intimidating and Ray wanted to get the hell back into the hold. Seeing that Estelle healed up a man, he decided to see if Yuri needed any support. He walked up to him, who just picked up a little girl and ran towards the gate, followed by Estelle, and completely ignoring him. Since there was no other person in demise, he picked up the doll lying on the ground and moved back.

"Mommy's doll!", the little girl Yuri picked up cried as they were inside the Hold and Estelle wanted to rush back as the gate was beginning to move again and was reaching Yuri's head, but Ray threw the doll, which was caught by the ex-knight before sliding through the gap. Heavenly breathing the kid asked:

"Why did I just went out with you?" The long haired sword fighter shrugged and said while catching his breath:

"Dunno, you could've stayed back, you know? Anyways, so much for keeping a low profile..." While the trio was praised and thanked for their actions, Ray could see how knights tried to hold back a certain guild's group. The teenager grinned as he said:

"Hey guys, if you can excuse me for a moment...you go...buy some stuff or something." Closing in, Ray could see three familiar persons: A gigantic man with an equally gigantic sword strapped on his back, observed the gate with a pissed expression. His brown hair, which were banded in two pigtails in the front and spiky to the sides added to his demonic looks, fitting his black short sleeved shirt. Behind him was a green hooded male with white hair and a young girl with a gigantic boomerang and brown hair, which was bound to a little ponytail on the left upper side. She wore a brown and pinkish short sleeved coat, which was bound together with a yellow sash. A black leggings were town up at some parts and she wore a black shirt underneath her coat. Ray raised his hand and said happily:

"If it isn't the Hunting Blades! What's up?" The trio looked at him, the girl in shock and surprise, the one with the hood smirked and the giant remained stoic while saying:

"...Ray. You're already done with your shopping trip to Zaphias?"

"Yup, got into prison, broke out with somebody and that somebody is now my bodyguard!", Ray exclaimed cheerfully as always, but the hooded one spat to the ground in annoyance:

"Tch, we all know you don't even need one. Still question why you even went with us."

"Well, you know how fast I go out of breath, Tison, so no harm in numbers. Where is Carolina?", the teenager asked while looking around and the girl from the Hunting Blades replied neutrally, but with a hint of worry, which made him smirk even more:

"He's hunting down an egg bear to proof himself for the guild. And why are you calling him with girl's names?"

"Because it's fun, Nanny. I sure hope you don't do that to get rid off him." As he replied with a casual tone, which however was paired with a little threatening look, the female shouted agitated:

"Don't call my Nanny!"

"Why? It's just a nickname fitting to Nan and you are his nanny, Mahahaha!" After Ray is done with his trademark laugh and mocking Nan a bit, Clint (the giant) went back into business:

"Anyways, you may have put your word for the brat, but until now we didn't see anything worth mentioning and you know it. He's a coward." Laughing awkwardly he had to admit that this problem was there and scratched his head a bit:

"...Yeah, still working on it. Maybe I need to approach this differently than yelling his name...Anyways, gotta go. Don't kill too many monsters. Maybe I hire you again once you learn to not completely annihilate them into a meat pile." As he was scolding them, Nan yelled offended, probably because he doubted their capabilities:

"That was only once!

"Yeah, yeah. See ya in Dahngrest. Maybe...oh wait, there is something in case you get to the Don sooner than me." He made a hand sign for them to get closer so that nobody would overhear them and whispered with a serious tone:"Leviathan's Claw broke into the Capital and one ESPECIALLY crazy guy tried to kill me and two others because he thought on of them was a knight. Uncle might want to know about that." The Hunting Blades looked surprised at how Ray got that information and the girl in the group asked in a quiet tone, since this was Union business:

"Are you sure about that? I mean, Yeager is kinda shady with his guild, but would he actually risk that?" The blacksmith shrugged to her question and replied:

"Hey, I just tell you what I saw. Army of Red Eyes broke in with an elite maniac." Nodding to him, Clint said in a low, but still powerful tone:

"Noted. But as far as I can see, we won't get out in near time."

"What about that forest in the west?" Ray already knew the answer, but decided to ask to be sure. Like he expected, the most ferocious one in the team, speak Tison, said with a diabolical smirk:

"We're not in a hurry. Besides, the normal way has more monsters and even a Giganto Monster!"

"...Sure. Well then, bye! And don't bully my buddy too much! Especially you, Nanny! He doesn't have that kind of fetish as far as I know!" After saying this, he immediately ran away before the girl could finish processing what he just said. Out of sight he could hear a satisfying loud "WHAT?!" and he could imagine how embarrassed she was right now. _Objective reached! This day is getting better at least! _Not seeing not one of his three companions, he decided to go on the wall to have a better view on the Hold. After he climbed up, the white haired man was about to leave. He suddenly stopped however and his red eyes were fixated on him. Now Ray was sure who this person was, but kept his poker face like the man did. When the blacksmith could detect his companions, the man walked past him and Ray looked after him. Turning around, the kid put up his innocent face and asked with confusion:

"Did I miss something?"

"Nope, just a guy who was talking nonsense. Do you know why he was staring at you just now when he walked by?" Ray had to admit, this man in front of him was unnaturally sharp. Not that he would mind, since this showed life experience. Yuri would be a good influence on Estelle, as long as he doesn't have to do something dirty. Nevertheless, the teenager had no intention of telling him the truth, so he did the only thing to stop him from asking: Disgusting him.

"Probably because I'm so cute, tehee!" Silence occurred after he made a poor attempt to look like a little girl when he showed his tongue and hit his head lightly.

"...Never do that again. It's creepy." Laughing heartily they walked through the Hold, asking people for an alternative way to Halure. As they reached a parking lot of carts, as familiar female voice spoke to them:

"You there, how about coming to work for me? You'll be paid, of course." Everyone except of Yuri turned around and saw Kaufman with one of her people. The glint in her eyes signalized to Ray, that she wanted to do business. Because the ex-knight ignored them, the man next to Kaufman yelled angrily:

"Hey, watch your manners before the president!"

"So it's not bad manners to try and buy someone without even introducing yourself?", Yuri countered, making clear he isn't interested in whatever Kaufman wanted, which made Ray happy, since he still needed him.

"Watch your mouth!", the unimportant man demanded and stepped forward to prove a point, but the female leader of Fortune's Market raised her hand to stop him.

"You're just as charming as I expected. I'm-" Before she could finish her sentence, Ray interjected with a little frown to get faster to the point:"Kaufman of the merchants' guild, Fortune's Market. Sorry, but I already hired him." Now Kaufman finally noticed him and looked surprised, which changed to a smile:

"Oh, Mr. Verrier. Pleasure to see you again."

"Yeah, after one of your guys screwing up my delivery, it sure is." The little displeased face of Ray made her cough in a small amount of embarrassment:

"...Sorry about that again, you know, new people need still make mistakes."

"No biggie, but next time let an experienced guy to the work for me", the teenager said with his smile and a wave with his hand, but Yuri looked disbelieving at him and asked:

"Seriously kid, how many people do you know?"

"Well, Mr. Verrier is someone who rivals the entire Soul Smiths Guild with ease in terms of quality, so it is natural many people know about him. The only problem is his motivation and therefore his prices." When Kaufman was done with her explanation, Ray felt a bit uncomfortable by the whistling of Yuri and the sparkling eyes of Estelle. Wanting to avert the attention from himself, the blacksmith asked:

"Alright, enough about me. Know any routes out of town besides the one leading to the Lord of Plains?"

"Lord of the Plains?", Yuri asked and Kaufman elaborated what that was:  
"The leader of the monsters out there. Anyways, I'm afraid you need to sit down and wait until the air is clear."

"Well, guess we have no other choice then", the ex-knight said with a hint of frustration and Estelle exclaimed with denial:

"But I can't afford this! I' ll look for a second opinion!" All of them watched her going off her own and then Yuri looked at Ray for a while. After a while the teenager realized what he wanted from him and said:

"...Yeah, I better go after her. Don't steal my bodyguard, Kaufman!"

/

Estelle POV

Estelle sat down on the ground after feeling exhausted. Not because she walked around that much, but more in desperation. Nobody seemed to know if there was a safe route they could take since the Hold was locked down. She sighed and tried to get optimistic thoughts. Even if she didn't travel that long with the others, she was fascinated by her first in another civilian place, even if it wasn't a town. She could picture the busy life which would fill the Hold if the monsters wouldn't be there. The wind wouldn't be so clear to hear as now and would be replaced by the loud chattering of people and the yelling of playing children. She knew this was only her imagination, but she was sure it would be the case. Suddenly somebody touched her shoulder and she yelped being startled from it and turned around. Seeing a grinning Ray in front of her she lets out a breath of relief and said pouting:

"At least say something..."

"I did. About three times. Busy with your imagination?" Blushing a bit after he sat down she stuttered embarrassed:

"Uhm...y-yes...sorry."

"Not a problem. But did you really had to run off like that?", he asked intrigued and she pouted remembering Yuri. She couldn't believe how he would give up so fast. It seemed she misunderstood him and therefore made her not so obvious anger clear:

"Since Yuri decided to sit around, I needed to do something!"

"Do you really think he would be like that?"

"Huh?" Estelle didn't know what he meant when he said this with a gentle smile and thankfully he explained:

"Sure, he said that, but this was clearly a joke. As if he would give a blastia thief more time to escape. Besides..."

"Besides?", the noble asked as she wanted to hear more reasons. Until now he had a point.

"He promised you to get to Flynn, didn't he? Does he look like someone breaking promises? Does he look like a bad guy?" Pondering about this for a while she looked to the ground. If he was a shallow person, would he made the extra effort to drag another person, with almost no real fighting experience, out of the capital in the wide world? He also protected her on several occasions already and Yuri also seemed sincere about promises. Realizing how childish she behaved she stood up and said with a resolved face:

"You're right! I should believe in him more! Even if he isn't really the escort I imagined who would accompany me to the outside."

"Let me guess, you rather thought about a shining, heroic knight? Well, Yuri is handsome for most women." The all knowing tone of Ray made her blush fiercely and she instantly denied his unspoken suggestion:

"I-i don't have that kind of interest! I-i-i need to focus on warning Flynn!"

"Sure. But in case you change your mind...I'm pretty sure he is single~", the teenager sang playfully and Estelle exclaimed even more embarrassed:

"Ray!"

"Mahahahaha!" As he was done with his laughing Yuri walked up to them, followed by Repede and he said with a smirk:

"Hey kid, seems like your idea with the forest is our only option now. Let's go." After that he immediately walked off, directly tailed by Ray and the dog, leaving Estelle dumbfounded for a few moments. When she gathered herself she ran after them while shouting:

"Wait for me!"

/

**Author's Note:**

**I made up the book Estelle recited. As far as I know, this book doesn't exist in the game. I just did that to show that Ray knows about it too.**


End file.
